All adults
should take a multivitamin every day, according to a report published
by two Harvard doctors in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
This recommendation is based on research demonstrating that taking
a multivitamin may help prevent a number of chronic diseases, including
heart disease, some cancers, and osteoporosis.
According to the authors, the evidence is conclusive that supplementing
with folic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy reduces the
risk of a group of birth defects known as neural tube defects. It
is also well documented that taking vitamin D along with calcium reduces
the risk of fractures in elderly women with thin bones (osteoporosis).
The new
recommendation is part of a gradual but ongoing attitude shift in
conventional medicine concerning the value of nutritional supplements.
For many years, the prevailing opinion among most doctors was that
vitamin supplements are unnecessary because the typical American diet
provides all of the nutrients necessary to maintain good health. However,
as the Harvard researchers point out, that opinion is no longer defensible.
The observation that vitamin supplementation can prevent several common
chronic diseases indicates that the average American diet does not
provide optimal amounts of some nutrients. Subtle vitamin deficiencies
can result from excessive consumption of nutrient-depleted foods such
as refined sugar and white flour, from inadequate intake of vitamin-rich
fruits and vegetables, and from nutrient losses due to processing,
prolonged heating, or storage of foods.
Multivitamin
and mineral supplements are perhaps the most important single supplement
that can be consumed by athletes also. For the human body to perform
at its maximum potential, it must be fed a vast and complex array
of vital nutrients. Becoming deficient in just one of these essential
vitamins or minerals breaks down the metabolic pathway that produces
optimum efficiency and performance declines. Daily consumption of
a highpotency multivitamin/multimineral formula may help ensure the
presence of essential cofactors necessary for thousands of metabolic
reactions.
Other
Ingredients: Gelatin, stearic acid, silica and magnesium stearate.
Adult Dosage: Take six capsules per day with a meal or two capsules
three times per day with meals.
